CarterHud

    With a record of 89-73, the Baltimore Orioles finished in a tie for 2nd place in the AL East with the Toronto Blue Jays. The O\’s also made the wild card game in the AL but lost to the Jays when manager Buck Showalter made a questionable decision to not put in star closer Zach Britton. The Jays then walked off on pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez, and won the game. To improve from last year, GM Dan Duquette made some moves. Let\’s look at what he did.

       Key additions: C Welington Castillo, OFs Seth Smith, Craig Gentry, Logan Schafer, SPs Logan Verrett, Gabriel Ynoa, 2B Johnny Giavotella, 3B Chris Johnson, RPs Vidal Nuno, Richard Bleier.
       Key subtractions: C Matt Wieters, SP Yovani Gallardo, DH Pedro Alvarez, OFs Nolan Reimold, Steve Pearce, RP Vance Worley.
       Biggest move: The O\’s didn\’t make a ginormous move, but a solid move was acquiring Smith from the Seattle Mariners for Gallardo. There wasn\’t many MLB player for MLB player deals this offseason, but this was one of them.
        X-factor: They don\’t have the best rotation, so they need their better pitchers to step up. Their main 2 starters are Chris Tillman and Kevin Gausman, and Gausman can decide more playoffs or not. An ERA under 4.00 would be ideal, and the O\’s are probably setting that as his goal.
         Biggest bounce back: In J.J. Hardy\’s first 3 seasons with the Orioles (2011, 12 and 13), Hardy hit 30, 22 and 25 home runs. Since then, he\’s hit 9, 8 and 9. At age 34, the O\’s at are looking to replace him. If Hardy can hit double digits in the HR category, he can have the starting job for at least another year.
         Biggest breakout: Starter Dylan Bundy was a top prospect at one point. After a couple of injuries in the minors, Bundy finally pitched for the big club (he did pitch way back in 2012, but only for 1.2 innings). In 109.2 IP, Bundy had an ERA of 4.02 and 104 Ks. He\’s currently 24 years old, and can turn into a dependable starter if he has a good 2017.
         Guaranteed star: 3B Manny Machado is just 24, and is already a star. In 2016, he played some SS, his natural position, and 3B. He hit .294, 37 HRs, and 96 RBIs. He\’ll be even better in 2017.
          The O\’s starting lineup should look like this:

          1. LF: Hyun Soo Kim/ Joey Rickard (platoon)
          2. 3B: Manny Machado
          3. CF: Adam Jones
          4. 1B: Chris Davis
          5. DH: Mark Trumbo
          6. 2B: Jonathan Schoop
          7. C: Welington Castillo
          8. RF: Seth Smith
          9. SS: J.J. Hardy

        Their starting rotation will probably be:
         1. Chris Tillman
         2. Kevin Gausman
         3. Dylan Bundy
         4. Wade Miley
         5. Ubaldo Jimenez

        LF Joey Rickard or LF Hyun Soo Kim (whoever isn\’t starting, because if pitcher is LHP, then Rickard plays, if RHP, Kim plays), 3B Ryan Flaherty, OFs Trey Mancini, Craig Gentry and C Caleb Joseph will be on the bench.
        Zach Britton will be their closer, with Darren O\’Day and Brad Brach setting him up.   
        I think the O\’s will be in wild card contention again, but miss by nothing more than 2.0 GB.

  

  The Atlanta Braves were one of the league\’s worst in 2016, going 68-93. GM John Coppollela did some retooling this offseason. Let\’s take a look at what Coppollela did.
 
      Key additions: 2B Brandon Phillips, SPs Bartolo Colon, R.A. Dickey, Jaime Garcia, John Danks, C Kurt Suzuki, RP Blaine Boyer, SS Sean Rodriguez.
      Key subtractions: OF Mallex Smith, RPs Chris Withrow, John Gant, Williams Perez, Cs A.J. Pierzynski, Anthony Recker.
      Biggest move: The Braves signed Rodriguez to be their starting 2B, but a car crash changed that, putting Rodriguez out for most of the season, if not all. So the Braves traded 2 minor leaguers for Phillips, a proven star. Another big move was signing 2 older guys in Colon and Dickey to help their rotation.
      X-factor: 26 year old Julio Teheran is the leader of this rotation. If he plays like he did in 2014 (2.89 ERA in 33 starts), the Braves can do WAY better than last year.
       Biggest bounce back: The Braves received both the biggest breakout (below) and pitcher Aaron Blair before the 2016 season for Shelby Miller. Miller was awful for the D-backs, but Blair was also pretty bad. He\’s just 24 years old, but he had an ERA of 7.59 in 70 innings last year. Blair might not be in the rotation this year, but if he is, expect better numbers.
        Biggest breakout: The bigger part in the Miller/Blair trade, SS Dansby Swanson was a former 1st overall draft pick. In 2016, Swanson played for the first time in the MLB. At age 22, Swanson hit .302 in 129 ABs. He can turn from good to great in 2017.
       Guaranteed star: For the first time in his career, 1B Freddie Freeman hit 30 HRs (he actually hit 34). He also hit 91 RBIs, hitting 90 or more RBIs for the 3rd time. He hit .302, with a career average of .288. He\’ll put up similar numbers in 2017.
        The Braves starting lineup should look like this.
       
        1. CF: Ender Inciarte
        2. SS: Dansby Swanson
        3. 1B: Freddie Freeman
        4. LF: Matt Kemp
        5. 2B: Brandon Phillips
        6. RF: Nick Markakis
        7. 3B: Adonis Garcia
        8. C: Tyler Flowers
        9. Pitcher

        Their rotation will most likely be this.
     
         1. Julio Teheran
         2. Jaime Garcia
         3. R.A. Dickey
         4. Bartolo Colon
         5. Mike Foltynewicz

         Cs Kurt Suzuki, Anthony Recker, SS Chase d\’Arnaud, OF Emilio Bonifacio and 2B Jace Peterson are on the bench.
         Arodys Vizcaino will be their closer. Jim Johnson and Josh Collmenter will set him up.
    

   

In 2016, the Arizona Diamondbacks had a record of 69-93, finishing 4th in the NL West division, 22 games back of the first place Los Angeles Dodgers. They fired GM Dave Stewart, naming Mike Hazen the new GM. Here\’s what Hazen did.
     
       Notable additions: SP Taijuan Walker, SS Ketel Marte, RP Fernando Rodney, C Chris Iannetta, SP Jorge de la Rose, RPs Tom Wilhelmsen, J.J. Hoover, Kevin Jepsen.
       Notable subtractions: SS Jean Segura, C Welington Castillo, RP Daniel Hudson, 2Bs Phil Gosselin, Rickie Weeks, RF Mitch Haniger.

      Biggest move: Hazen and Mariners GM Jerry DiPoto made one of the biggest trades this offseason, moving Walker and Marte to Arizona, and Segura and Haniger to Seattle.
      X-factor: CF A.J. Pollock missed almost all of 2016 with a fractured elbow. If he can have a solid 2017 season, the D-backs can be a playoff contender.
       Biggest bounce back: After trading top prospects Dansby Swanson and Aaron Blair to Atlanta for SP Shelby Miller, Miller posted a horrid 6.15 ERA. Miller needs to bounce back, or he\’ll probably lose his job.
       Biggest breakout: Brandon Drury played both the outfield and the infield in 2016, batting .282. He also hit 16 HRs and 53 RBIs. Expect a big season for Drury, no matter what position he plays.
       Guaranteed star: Paul Goldschmidt hit .297, 24 HRs and 95 RBIs in 2016, and also stole 32 bases. Similar numbers should occur in 2017.
      The D-backs lineup should look like this:

1. CF: A.J. Pollock
2. LF: David Peralta
3. 1B: Paul Goldschmidt
4. 3B: Jake Lamb
5. RF: Yasmany Tomas
6. SS: Chris Owings
7. 2B: Brandon Drury
8. C: Chris Iannetta
9. Pitcher

       The Diamondbacks rotation will probably be:
1. Zack Greinke
2. Taijuan Walker
3. Patrick Corbin
4. Shelby Miller
5. Robbie Ray

       Cs Jeff Mathis, Chris Herrmann, SSs Nick Ahmed, Daniel Descalco and Jeremy Hazelbaker are on the bench.
       Fernando Rodney will be their closer, and Randall Delgado and J.J. Hoover will set him up.
   
       My prediction: The D-backs will be 4th in the division again, miss the playoffs, but improve in 2017.

The Dallas Stars are rebuilders. They are 8 points out of a playoff spot, with 60 of them (a record of 25-29-10). At the trade deadline, they were sellers. Winger Patrick Eaves was traded to Anaheim. Defenseman Jordie Benn went to Montreal. They also traded defenseman Johnny Oduya back to Chicago. Those trades by GM Jim Nill were made so the Stars can get a high draft pick in the 2017 NHL draft. The Stars lost another player, but not because of a trade. Winger Antoine Roussel was injured in the Stars\’ 5-4 loss against the New York Islanders Thursday. He is likely to miss the 18 remaining games the Stars will play this season. \”I think when you look at it, that time range, yeah,\” head coach Lindy Ruff said. \”I can give you a 6-8 week range.\” Roussel, 27, has 27 points (12 goals and 15 assists) in 60 games this season. He has a +1 rating. Roussel is a major grinder. In all of his 5 NHL seasons, Roussel has at least 100 PIM, except for his rookie season, (2012-13) where he had 85 PIM in just 39 games. He has 680 career PIM. He has 124 points (59 goals and 65 assists) in 340 career NHL games, all with the Stars, who signed him in 2012. Roussel was undrafted.

    The New York Islanders have dealt with some problems this season. They were last in the NHL at one point. They now sit a point out of the second wild card spot in the Eastern conference with 68 of them (a record of 29-22-10). But the real problem is injuries. Center Casey Cizikas will miss about a month. More news says that center Alan Quine will be out weeks. That led to the call up of prospect Joshua Ho-Sang. Ho-Sang was drafted 28th overall in the 2014 NHL draft. In his first season with Bridgeport (AHL), Ho-Sang has played really well. Ho-Sang, 21, has 36 points (10 goals and 26 assists) in 48 AHL games. Ho-Sang had 292 points (82 goals and 210 assists) in 256 career OHL games in 4 seasons with the Windsor Spitfires and the Niagara IceDogs. He made his NHL debut on Thursday, March 2 in Dallas against the Stars. We\’ll see how long he\’s up, and his impact on the Isles while he\’s up there.